1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cigar cutting apparatus for cutting the tip from a cigar preparatory to lighting the same, and particularly to a cigar cutter designed to slice the tip of a cigar cleanly and in a manner which prolongs blade life.
2. Prior Art
Many devices are known for cutting the end of a cigar. Most of these devices incorporate a flat steel blade or pair of blades of the same size and shape. The blades travel perpendicular to the central axis of the cigar and trim the cigar with a chopping motion. While these may be effective in severing the cigar tip from the cigar they all have a common disadvantage. That is, they tend to crush or tear the body of the cigar, or even the cigar wrapper, rather than cutting cleanly. This effect becomes even more pronounced as the blades dull.
A further limitation of the prior art devices is the chopping motion with which the blades act upon the cigar tip. That is, the blades first impact the opposing surfaces of the cigar tip at points where the distance between these surfaces is greatest. Further the opposing surfaces of the cigar tip tend to be compressed simultaneously, thereby producing an undesirable crushing effect upon the cigar.
Compounding the crushing problem encountered with the prior art devices, is the fact that the impact of the blades upon the cigar body tends to be focused on a limited area of the blades. The repeated application of cutting force to this limited area of the blades' cutting surfaces, causes the blades to dull more quickly than would be the case if the impact were distributed over an extended area of the blades' cutting surfaces, as occurs with a slicing action.
U.S. Pat. No. 715,315 to Steinecke discloses a cigar cutter comprising two flat sheet metal members provided with cooperating knife edges, or blades, each member having a digital recess by means of which it may be actuated in either direction relative to the other member. However, this device does not overcome the limitations described above in that the forces of impact of the disclosed blades with the cigar tend to be concentrated within a relatively small area of the blades' cutting surfaces. In addition the disclosed blades are configured so as to disadvantageously produce the chopping motion described above.
U.S. Pat. No. 232,864 to J. Wienhold discloses a cigar cutter having relatively semi-circular blades which are designed to pivot toward each other as pressure is applied by the fingers to the outer wings of the cutter. These blades tend to cause all opposing surfaces of the cigar tip to be compressed simultaneously thereby increasing the tendency of the device to crush the cigar. This tendency increases as the blades dull.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,598 to Lefebvre proposes a cigar cutter designed to overcome the crushing problem described above. The disclosed cutter comprises two pivotally connected parts, one carrying at least two movable blades which are designed to effect a simultaneous rotational blade motion. This device suffers from the disadvantage of having a relatively large number of moving parts which increases the complexity and cost of the cutter.
A need remains for a cigar cutter which is simple to operate, has few moving parts, and which slices the cigar tip cleanly in a manner that avoids tearing or crushing the cigar or the cigar wrapper. A further need remains for a cigar cutter which reduces wear and tear on a focused section of the blades, thus prolonging the usable life of the blade.